Good morning, glories!
We've had a slight change of plans at Write. Click. Scrapbook. today. You see, Jody Wenke (otherwise known as USAJody, or Miss USA, or One of the Two Awesome Jodys, er, Jodies) was supposed to be your hostess this week. You can imagine her (and our) horror to learn that her entire scrapbook area—a room lovingly and beautifully carved out of her basement—was the victim of a burst water pipe just after Christmas. While she and her husband (and their insurance company) work to repair the damage, I'm filling in with a little help from my friends! We thought it would be nice to let Jody know we understand her frustration. Those of us who have been there got together to cheer her up with our own home disasters!
12 x 12 page by Elizabeth Dillow
A few years ago, we discovered that our basement water heater had bottomed out—the second time it had happened to us (though in two different houses). During the discovery, hand-wringing, clean-up, and completion phases, I didn't take a single photo—but that doesn't mean I can't include the story in our family scrapbook. I actually did blog about the incident, so pulling the journaling straight from my blog made this a quick and easy page to create. Luckily (knock on wood)(there will be a lot of knocking on wood today) we haven't replaced a water heater since!
Jody documented her family's swimming pool disaster with her trademark sense of humor—and had the presence of mind to take photos of the aftermath of their collapsed pool. According to Jody, "the pool collapsed in the middle of the night (such a loud crack and so much water pouring everywhere). Insurance dithered for 7 weeks and then said no – too old, rust present, yadda yadda! Not a problem, we will just pay to put a new one in but now it’s school holidays, the weather is hot and the pool suppliers close down during Christmas and the first 3 weeks of January. So here we are, hot days, no pool and sad kids!"
Jody also documented a more dangerous, scary home disaster that occurred in 2007 when her family's shed (think detached, large garage with storage) caught fire and burned to the ground on their property (farm). Not only did it destroy outdoor equipment, but all of her Christmas decorations and many sentimentally valuable papers and ephemera from her sons' lives. With the pictures she took, she created an album to document the devastation and rebuilding process—a truly therapeutic endeavor!
In Vermont, Katrina deals with a different kind of challenge: spring flooding, dangerous ice, and foot after foot of snow (which might be pretty and calming once in a while, but try driving to work every day in it). Using a few photos of her driveway and neighborhood looking more like a lake, she documented a facet of her life that might otherwise have been lost!
Emily Pitts might not have a disaster on her hands, but she sure has a house that requires a lot of special knowledge and care to live in it (which, after a long day, might feel a bit disastrous, right?) Documenting these quirks now will ensure her family will remember the experience of living there in so much more detail one day.
12 x 12 page by Emily Pitts
Instead of one disastrous occurence, Erin Sweeney documented a multitude of catastrophes on her page, where you can almost relive each and every hour of those terrible 24 along with her. You might not think you'll want to relive experiences like these, but sometimes these are the stories that become the stuff of family legend—and can strengthen a family's bond just by merely surviving it all!
8 1/2 x 11 page by Erin Sweeney
Sara Winnick decided to spin our last-minute assignment a different way: she will be prepared the next time diasaster strikes with one of these:
card by Sara Winnick
Don't you just need a card like this on hand? I know I would have felt better the day my water heater came crashing down had someone handed me a "sorry about your water heater fiasco" card. : )
What about you? Have you had any home disasters or other catastrophes that you're far enough removed from now to document? These debacles are part of our life's story just like the happier (and drier) moments are too, and it's worth sitting down to document them. Help Jody know she's not alone and share your story this week in our Flickr gallery! And if you don't have a disaster to document... well, now's the time to knock on wood again!
